The increased complexity in integrated circuit (IC) devices has driven logic designers to use a variety of automation tools to test the devices. Integrated circuit devices are tested and graded based on speed (e.g., binning) or any other performance specification. Generally, physical hard bins are designated to manage IC device inventories. As an example, each physical hard bin may represent a list of performance specifications. As such, IC devices with features that match the list of performance specifications are grouped together and physically sorted into their respective bins.
However, the binning process is complicated by manufacturing variations that are difficult or impossible to avoid as IC devices become smaller and more complex. Manufacturing variations may cause one or more parameters to vary between ICs that are formed according to the same IC design. While it is possible to provide additional bins to group the IC devices, to do so becomes impractical and expensive due to the increasing number of features and parameter variations in different IC devices.
In cases where there is a need to cater for customers with specific performance criteria, selecting the right IC devices based on customer requirements is time-consuming. For example, each bin may need to undergo rescreening in order to retrieve a specific IC device with performance features that satisfy a particular customer's requirements.